ELECTRONICS
Delta eyes 17% growth
Delta Electronics Inc (台達電), a supplier of power management solutions, yesterday said that its electric vehicle (EV) charging pile business would grow at least 17 percent during the five years to 2030. Delta has installed 2 million EV charging piles around the world, the company said. Aside from North America and Japan, Delta also plans to install 22 EV fast chargers at six service centers in Taiwan in the second half of this year, it said. Delta showcased its latest high-power fast chargers, which have a maximum output of 350 kilowatts, at the 2035 E-Mobility Taiwan trade show in Taipei.
SEMICONDUCTORS
US purchases hit record
US purchases of machines from Taiwan to make computer chips rose to a record last month. Taiwan, a global hub for silicon fabrication advances, saw its chipmaking machine exports to the US rise 42.6 percent last month from a year earlier, reaching a new high of US$71.3 million, Ministry of Finance data showed. Exports to China plummeted 33.7 percent, marking the ninth straight month of decline, the data showed. Home to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and several other major players in the chip sector, Taiwan plays a central role in the global supply chain. Concern about over-reliance on the nation prompted steps by US officials to bring more advanced chipmaking within the US’ borders. TSMC is setting up two fabrication plants in Arizona, assisted by subsidies and local government support.
COMPUTERS
Computex speakers named
Nvidia Inc founder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) is to deliver a keynote speech at Computex Taipei on May 29, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said yesterday. The five other keynote speakers are Qualcomm Technologies Inc senior vice president Alex Katouzian, NXP Semiconductors executive vice president Rafael Sotomayor, Acer Inc (宏碁) chairman and CEO Jason Chen (陳俊聖) and Charles Liang (梁見後), founder and CEO of Super Micro Computer Inc, TAITRA said. The speeches would focus on subjects around high-performance computing, artificial intelligence applications, next-generation connectivity, hyperreality, innovations and start-ups, and sustainability, it said. The annual trade show is to start on May 30 and run through June 2 at the Nangang Exhibition Center’s Hall I and Hall II.
MEMORY CHIPS
Phison revenue expands
NAND flash memory controller supplier Phison Electronics Corp (群聯電子) on Wednesday said revenue expanded 20 percent sequentially last month to NT$3.93 billion (US$128.87 million) from NT$3.27 billion in February. Revenue tumbled 41.08 percent to NT$10.08 billion in the first quarter compared with NT$17.11 billion in the same period last year. Phison founder and CEO Pua Khein-seng (潘健成) said that memorychip prices are approaching a floor as indicated by Samsung Electronics Co’s recent remarks that it would reduce production to a “meaningful level” to reduce inventory and slow down price declines. Output reduction by NAND flash memorychip makers would be helpful in bringing the supply-demand condition to a healthy level and to stimulate prices, Pua said in a company statement released on Wednesday.
Semiconductor business between Taiwan and the US is a “win-win” model for both sides given the high level of complementarity, the government said yesterday responding to tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Taiwan is a key link in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp. Trump said on Monday he plans to impose tariffs on imported chips, pharmaceuticals and steel in an effort to get the producers to make them in the US. “Taiwan and the US semiconductor and other technology industries
SMALL AND EFFICIENT: The Chinese AI app’s initial success has spurred worries in the US that its tech giants’ massive AI spending needs re-evaluation, a market strategist said Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek’s (深度求索) eponymous AI assistant rocketed to the top of Apple Inc’s iPhone download charts, stirring doubts in Silicon Valley about the strength of the US’ technological dominance. The app’s underlying AI model is widely seen as competitive with OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc’s latest. Its claim that it cost much less to train and develop triggered share moves across Asia’s supply chain. Chinese tech firms linked to DeepSeek, such as Iflytek Co (科大訊飛), surged yesterday, while chipmaking tool makers like Advantest Corp slumped on the potential threat to demand for Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators. US stock
The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a pause in rate cuts on Wednesday, as policymakers look to continue tackling inflation under close and vocal scrutiny from US President Donald Trump. The Fed cut its key lending rate by a full percentage point in the final four months of last year and indicated it would move more cautiously going forward amid an uptick in inflation away from its long-term target of 2 percent. “I think they will do nothing, and I think they should do nothing,” Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis former president Jim Bullard said. “I think the
SUBSIDIES: The nominee for commerce secretary indicated the Trump administration wants to put its stamp on the plan, but not unravel it entirely US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency in charge of a US$52 billion semiconductor subsidy program declined to give it unqualified support, raising questions about the disbursement of funds to companies like Intel Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電). “I can’t say that I can honor something I haven’t read,” Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, said of the binding CHIPS and Science Act awards in a confirmation hearing on Wednesday. “To the extent monies have been disbursed, I would commit to rigorously enforcing documents that have been signed by those companies to make sure we get
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